Sunday, November 16, 2008

Tokyo November 東京十一月

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The view from our hotel, including the Rainbow Bridge.
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Looking towards Shinjuku from our hotel room.
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A daytime view of the same photo.
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And a daytime view of the Rainbow Bridge.
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We spent Monday morning having a leisurely breakfast near our hotel and then headed out for Harajuku.
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Shopping street in Harajuku.
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Lunch with a view of the crowds below. Rissotto.... mmm.....
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Crepes!
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Snacking on the street.
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In the late afternoon we took the train back to Kobe.
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After dinner near Shin-Kobe station we walked along this pedestrian street with signs labeled 'Birthday Avenue,' appropriate considering the week. ;)
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Saturday, November 15, 2008

Tokyo Disney Sea 東京ディズニーシー

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On Sunday we returned to Tokyo Disney to visit Tokyo Disney Sea. This park is unique to Japan and is based around themed ports.
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We headed straight for the back of the park to the 'Lost River Delta', which is themed after Mexico. Our first goal was to get a fastpass for the Indiana Jones ride, which we did. Here I am infront of the pyramid that houses Indiana Jones.
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Our next stop was the Raging Spirits roller coaster, which is themed after an archaeological dig. This was very cool, and even the line kept us entertained with many things to look at. The most amusing part however, was probably at the begining of the line, as we walked past the two staff members who held the height restriction pole (to make sure kids are tall enough to ride). One of the staff members stopped Joe and asked his height. Seeing our complete confusion they told us that there is a height limit for the ride! They measured to be sure that Joe could fit, as riders have to be under 190 centimeters. He fit (though not by much), and once again his height was a source of amusement/interest.
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One of the most interesting parts of Disney Sea was the elaborate created landscapes. Here is the Triton's Kingdom area of the park, themed after the Little Mermaid.
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Joe in the Mysterious Island area of the park. This steam-punkesque area included the awesome Journey to the Center of the Earth ride, based on the Jules Verne novel. The line for this ride was inside a 'cave' and included making your way through a 19th century science lab, going down into the earth in a 'terravator' and eventually boarding very neo-Victorian cars that took riders through the layers of the earth, shooting out of the side of the volcano at the end.
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With the Mediterranean Harbor behind us.
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Entering the American Harbor area of the park.
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Lunch at the Teddy Roosevelt Lounge on the huge ship that is part of the American Harbor area.
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The entrance to the Arabian Coast area, where we had some fresh juice and a snack of Black Pepper flavored popcorn.
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Dinner of fresh tortillas and other yummy Mexican food accompanied by live music.
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Back by the American Harbor area, where our last ride of the day was the Tower of Terror (on the left). So scary!
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Gelatto and cappucino in the Mediterranean Harbor to finish off the day, you can see the volcano of Mysterious Island in the background.

Disney Sea was a great park, and had lots of fantastic invented landscapes to marvel at. On a Sunday of a three-day weekend though, this park was crazy-crowded. While we were able to use the fastpass on some rides, and got lucky happening upon Journey to the Center of the Earth immediately after it was re-opened after an hour of breakdown (and not having to wait in line), the lines and crowds were a bit much to take. Disneyland sold out tickets early in the day, and it seemed that Disney Sea was sold to capacity as well. I would like to return on a less crowded day, but still had a great time. I thought it was really neat that the park is located right next to the real sea, so from time to time you get a seaview, and you generally get the feeling that you are on the edge of land. A very cool place to spend the day!
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Thursday, November 13, 2008

Tokyo Disneyland 東京ディズニーラント

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The first weekend of November was a three day weekend and the start of a week of election and birthday festivities. We headed up to Tokyo on Friday night and spent Saturday at Tokyo Disneyland. Here's Joe at the front gates of the park.
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Goofing around with Robin Hood.
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The Cinderella Castle.
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Walt Disney statue.
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Lovely topiary.
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2008 is the 25th anniversary of Tokyo Disneyland, so there were lots of banners and anniversary souveniers to be found.
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After riding Big Thunder Mountain Railroad with my favorite Country Bear Jamboree character, Big Al!
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Joe hitching a ride after Splash Mountain.
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After riding Pirates of the Caribbean.
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In Adventureland.
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Evening...
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Spinning around on the Alice in Wonderland Teacups.....
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.... whhhhiirrrrrlllllyyyyyyy.......
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The Main Street Electrical Parade! My favorite!
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More parade... I really love the Cheshire Cat.
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Toy Story
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Pete's Dragon, another childhood favorite.
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Joe at the entrance to Tomorrowland, you can see Space Mountain in the background.
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At Star Tours, the Star Wars ride.
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Leaving Disneyland for the day.
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We took the train back to our hotel after a really fun day. Tokyo Disneyland is quite similar to the two Magic Kingdom parks in the U.S., but with a few minor differences. We really enjoyed the Haunted Mansion, which was themed after The Nightmare Before Christmas for the period inbetween Halloween and Christmas. I was a little bit dissapointed that the Tiki Room had been changed to include Stitch (as in Lilo and Stitch), as I love the cheesy classic songs from the original. Seeing the Johnny Depp character inserted into Pirates of the Caribbean was humerous. And all through the day we were amused by the half-English half-Japanese versions of the theme songs that accompany the rides and parades (as in, 小さいの世界、It's a small world....). The park had excellent food as we expected, and the lines for rides weren't so bad for a Saturday on a three-day weekend. More from our weekend is coming soon!

Tuesday, November 04, 2008

Obama!

Wow.
It`s been quite an afternoon. Thankfully I only had to teach in the morning today, and for the last 4 hours or so, I have been anxiously watching the election results online, switching between news websites, watching livestream tv, checking in with friends and family via phone, text messages, e-mail, and facebook. The Japanese teachers have been poping in from time to time, and my Australian co-worker has been watching with me. I am certainly grateful to live in a world that is so connected, and I am thrilled to be able to watch this election happen live.
I just watched Obama`s victory speech in my hometown of Chicago, teary and with chills running down my spine. What an amazing day for America. What a great moment in history. How pleasant to have an election that was not marred by issues in the electoral college or with disinfranchsement. I am so proud of my country, something that I have not said much in the last 8 years. Today is also my birthday, and this is the best birthday present that I could ever imagine.
Thank you America, and thank you Obama!!

Iwatsubo Jinja Fall Matsuri 岩壺神社秋祭り



Two weeks ago on Saturday night we went to the Iwatsubo Shrine Fall Matsuri (festival) in Miki, a Shinto festival celebrating the harvest.

Six shrine floats were carried from satellite shrines in Miki to the central Iwatsubo shrine. Each float belongs to a neighborhood, and the local people fund the matintanance of the float, as well as provide the manpower to carry it to Iwatsubo.



The floats were very elaborate and included gilt surfaces, embroidered textiles, drums, lanterns, and power generators.




Each of the floats were carried through the central gate of the shrine and were then paraded around the shrine courtyard. The floats are extremely heavy and at times the movement of the floats through the crowd seemed quite dangerous.










You can get an idea of the weight of the float by looking at the agony on their faces.





We spent much of the evening with one of my co-workers, Nakatani-sensei, his son, and his son's friends. It was great to have someone explain the ritual to us.








After the floats were carried through the gate and paraded around the courtyard the teams took a break to consume sake and food. It was during this break that we were able to get a close-up look at the floats.







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Joe and Nakatani-sensei climbing around on one of the floats.
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A close-up photo of the embroidery.









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This was the parade leader!
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Some of the men who carried one of the floats. They wore matching jakets to show which neighborhood they belonged to.
After the main event at the shrine, which included food vendors, lots of drinking, game tents and lots of socializing the teams carried the floats back to their respective neighborhoods, some of which were quite far from Iwatsubo. Quite an impressive feat of strength and quite an amazing show of traditional culture and arts!

Iwatsubo Shrine Fall Festival